BOSTON TO WASHINGTON DC

457 miles; from $69/£55

“The Acela” is Amtrak’s flagship route, linking Boston to Washington DC via New York and other key north eastern cities. A core part of the business, it offers up to 20 trains per day – and can be an epic journey for tourists.

BOSTON

It makes sense to begin in the Massachusetts capital. After all, in many ways, America had its own beginnings here – when revolutionaries kicked crates of cargo into the harbour in the “Boston Tea Party” of December 1773. This febrile era can still be explored via the Freedom Trail (thefreedomtrail. org), which links 16 locations pertinent to the US’s march to independence. And there is good food to boot – especially in the eateries of Little Italy.

Stay: The Eliot Hotel (001 617 267 1607; eliothotel.com); doubles from £218

First leg: 4hrs; from $31/£25 NEW YORK

The ride down to the Big Apple is one of the USA’s most picturesque, skimming the edge of Long Island Sound through Rhode Island and Connecticut. Ultimately, the train drops you into Penn Station, midway between the Garment District and Chelsea – and from there, New York is your oyster. Take a stroll along the High Line (thehighline.org). Or perhaps hang from the observation deck of the 30 Hudson Yards skyscraper

(edgenyc.com). Why not?

Stay: Moxy Times Square (001 212 967 6699; moxytimessquare.com); doubles from £266

Second leg: 1.5hrs; from $19/£15 PHILADELPHIA

It says a lot about the glut of cities in the American north east that you can swap NYC for Philly in 90 minutes, and will have sped through Trenton (the New Jersey capital) en route. Philadelphia is a special mix of grand and gritty, the landmarks of Independence National Historical Park (such as the Liberty Bell; nps.gov/inde) and the paintings of its Museum of Art (philamuseum.org) rubbing elbows with the many calories of the Philly Cheesesteak.

Stay: Kimpton Hotel Palomar (001 855 546 7866; hotelpalomar-philadelphia. com); doubles from £127

Third leg: 2hrs; from $31/£25 WASHINGTON DC

The US capital has enough wonders to fill a week – from the monuments of the National Mall (where the Lincoln Memorial echoes to the words of both the 16th president and Martin Luther King; nps.gov/nama) to the museums of the Smithsonian Institution (like the National Air and Space Museum, and its Apollo mission exhibits; airandspace.si.edu).

Stay: Hotel Washington (001 202 661 2400; thehotelwashington.com); doubles from £220

i Honest Abe: pay a visit to the 16th president at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC